Maurizio Fava, MD, was named chair of psychiatry for Mass General Brigham (MGB), effective November 1, 2025. Today, he leads a newly integrated psychiatry department—comprising faculty across MGH, Brigham and Women’s, and McLean—with a unified vision for excellence in clinical care, research, education, and community health.
Back to the Beginning
This represents a full-circle moment for Fava, who traces his early interest in psychiatry to experiences he had at McLean more than four decades ago.
“I was a medical student in Italy, where I trained in endocrinology,” said Fava. “In 1978, my supervisor recommended a book called ‘Chemotherapy in Psychiatry’ by Ross J. Baldessarini, MD, who directs the International Consortium for Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Research at McLean. It blew me away and I ended up spending two summers in his lab. If not for my time at McLean, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Expanding Expertise
Today he is leading the top-rated psychiatry department in the nation. That’s quite a challenge, especially when contemplating the sheer scope of the newly integrated entity.
“Through integration, we can more easily cross-fertilize clinical and research talent throughout the system,” said Fava.
“By combining our residency programs, we will have a program that is about 50% larger than that of our nearest competitor. We also have the largest faculty: more than 1,300 combined. The key is to ensure that we can leverage expertise wherever it exists and apply it universally.”
Learning and Sharing
Fava also sees opportunities to expand the scope and scale of research efforts in the department. “McLean is known for its tremendous basic and translational science research, while MGH and the Brigham lean more toward clinical and implementation research,” Fava explained. “So, we’re very complementary.”
To that end, Fava predicts that the MGB Department of Psychiatry will publish over 1,500 original research articles a year—a resounding demonstration of investigative leadership. Another opportunity will be combined training programs, which allow trainees to gain experience in different settings and aspects of psychiatry.
Philanthropy Is Key
Research isn’t free, and securing and retaining top talent requires investment. Fava understands the essential role of philanthropy—especially endowed chairs and grants for research—in our success.
“Philanthropy is critical to our work,” he said. “We are lucky to be part of the MGB system, which provides stability, but philanthropy is the engine for our innovation. McLean’s recent campaign showed what we can accomplish with donor support, as we are now building an incredible new child and adolescent campus in Belmont.”
Onward and Upward
MGB’s continuing integration and unification efforts are setting McLean up for renewed growth and resiliency while navigating the seas of change facing the health care industry. With Fava at the helm, there is increased confidence that McLean’s patients and families will experience positive outcomes.
